God Doesn’t Give Up / David Jeremiah

 

God Doesn’t Give Up [Jesus] said to [Peter] the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.” John 21:17    We grieve for Peter, who “wept bitterly” after denying Christ three times (Matthew 26:75). But who among us has not failed the Lord? What are we to make of our unfaithfulness? What hope is there for us?

Recommended Reading: Matthew 26: 69 – 75

The same hope Jesus conveyed to Peter following the Resurrection. By the Sea of Galilee (John 21:1), Jesus commissioned Peter to be the shepherd of His flock. Just as Peter had denied Christ three times, so Christ commissioned Peter three times. We must take heart from this exchange: God never disowns or gives up on His children. Paul wrote that the good work God began in us will be completed because it is God working in us (Philippians 1:6; 2:13). We may be unfaithful, but God never is (2 Timothy 2:13). If you have failed God in some way, take heart! God will complete the work He began in you (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24). O Jesus. . .open thine arms, and take me in. . . and love the faithless sinner still. Charles Wesley